A firestorm of public outrage has erupted in Iran after revelations surfaced that Shahram Dabbiri, deputy parliamentary affairs chief under the regime’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, allegedly took a luxurious trip to Antarctica during the Nowruz holidays, while millions of Iranians face crushing economic hardship. While the scandal has enraged the public, much of the exposure and condemnation from within the regime itself appears less rooted in accountability and more in political score-settling. Rival factions have seized on the incident to undermine each other, while others—desperate to distance themselves from public anger—have condemned Dabbiri not out of principle, but to whitewash their own roles in the regime’s systemic corruption.
Photos shared on Instagram on March 23—later deleted—showed Dabbiri and his wife posing in front of the Plancius, a Dutch cruise ship that departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, for a 10-day voyage to Antarctica on that very date. According to news reports and corroborated by the ship-tracking site MarineTraffic, the vessel was en route through the Scotia Sea near Antarctica when the images were posted.
As public anger surged, the Presidency’s parliamentary affairs office released a statement on March 26 via ISNA, dismissing the claims as “rumors” and insisting that “the published images are old.” However, this only fueled further skepticism, especially after it was noted that Dabbiri did not attend the most recent cabinet session and no official explanation was given for his absence.
#Iran News in Brief
The regime's Vice President Mohammad Mokhber's statement against people who enjoy a lavish lifestyle unleashed a new wave of criticism on #socialmedia where users reacted by posting pictures of his own brother.#hypocrisy https://t.co/SfL7mZIVhF pic.twitter.com/c7mWZwdmVn
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 3, 2022
Critics were swift and unsparing. Mohammad Mohajeri, a principlist political commentator, wrote on March 25: “Even if this trip was funded personally, it certainly doesn’t align with Mr. Pezeshkian’s Nahj al-Balagha-style image. He must be dismissed.”
Nahj al-Balagha is a revered collection of sermons, letters, and sayings attributed to Imam Ali, the first Shiite Imam. It is often cited by Iranian officials as a model of ethical governance, justice, and modest leadership, though critics point out the stark contrast between these ideals and the regime’s actions.
Sociologist Mohammad Fazeli echoed the sentiment on Entekhab News on March 26, saying, “If this news is true, the president must not hesitate to remove him. Understanding the gravity of people’s suffering is the bare minimum of statesmanship. You can’t cover for it by saying, ‘It’s my own money.’”
Who’s Behind #Iran’s Car Smuggling Business?
75,000 foreign luxury cars are imported 4 Iranian regime’s state officials every year. Released with paying the least customs duties, many of the cars are illegally imported and even smuggled into the country. https://t.co/E89vd3xt8K pic.twitter.com/cs18KWmrdj— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 23, 2018
The scandal is particularly incendiary in light of Iran’s deepening economic crisis. On the same day the cruise allegedly departed, the Iranian rial plunged further as the U.S. dollar crossed the 100,000 toman threshold—a symbolic collapse of purchasing power that triggered panic across financial markets.
Meanwhile, as Dabbiri’s Antarctic escapade trended on Persian-language social media, more revelations emerged about his history of corruption and nepotism. According to IRNA (June 2020), Dabbiri was arrested in 2020 by the IRGC’s intelligence unit for alleged financial misconduct while serving as chairman of Tabriz’s city council—though later cleared.
Today, reports from Shargh Daily claim Dabbiri has filled his office with relatives: “His brother-in-law’s son has been appointed as deputy youth minister, another family member has been placed in a high-ranking role in the vice presidency, and his brother now sits on the board of Iran’s Football Federation.”
#Iran News in Brief:
Following the national outrage about Mohammad Bagher #Qalibaf family’s lavish trip to #Turkey to buy luxury baby stuff, a state-run newspaper is calling for the parliament's speaker to resign.https://t.co/UH6Tg92OTx pic.twitter.com/NvHuJzHH5G
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 21, 2022
The regime’s clumsy attempts to downplay the scandal have only inflamed the situation. The government’s official response, carried by Hamshahri Online on March 26, stated that “this trip took place in previous years when Dabbiri held no official post.” However, users on social media quickly pointed out that the Plancius cruise matching the photo only sailed on March 23, 2025—exposing the falsehood.
State-related activist Vahid Ashtari, known for exposing the “baby shopping scandal” involving Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s family, sarcastically wrote: “A trip to Antarctica is disgraceful—especially for a government that came to power reading Nahj al-Balagha. But at least these people post their photos proudly—unlike the hypocrites who go to Turkey to buy baby clothes and then preach jihadist lifestyles.”
This latest incident has renewed public focus on the ruling elite’s culture of privilege and hypocrisy. Ordinary Iranians, grappling with skyrocketing inflation, food insecurity, and vanishing public services, now watch as regime insiders vacation in the farthest reaches of the Earth.
The Antarctica trip has become a striking symbol of the regime’s hypocrisy, where calls for sacrifice and “Islamic austerity” are forced on a population crushed by inflation, while the political elite indulge in luxury cruises to the edge of the world.